It may be less than a pocket handkerchief in size, but I love the way my miniature rainforest has developed from my original plans a little over three years ago.
A visit from my son over the weekend, resulted in a larger mirror placed on the southern fence, and the reclining buddha regaining his position among the flowering jasmine on the eastern fence
This post is in answer to Kath, who left a comment regarding preparing fabric for printing a soft book for her baby...
Below is my reply to her......
I'm no expert at this type of thing ....so if anyone else has anything constructive to add please do so
I'm guessing that as it's for your baby, you want to be able to launder it?
I'm not really sure how the methods below will stand up to frequent laundering .
I have made quilts and soft books that have been washed many times,
but!
I used fabric paints!And one quilt is 22 years old.........(grandson) and I am surprised that it lasted so well when his mother
machine washed it at least weekly for 8 years.
That was painted with Scarecrow figures.
The other featured the "Bananas in Pyjamas" and it is now 14 years old.
Back to treating fabric:
One method is to initially wash your cotton fabric to remove any dressing from the fabric, then soak fabric in FABRIC SOFTENER and allow to drip dry.
I use A4 size (8by 11" ) and cut freezer paper to measure and lay fabric on the Freezer paper.
Once printed leave aside to dryand heat set with a hot iron.
I tend to use a sheet of baking parchment to prevent scorching fabric.
There is a product in Australia known as Bubble jet set and you use much the same way as the
Fabric softener.
When you have finished with the BJS pour back into bottle for next time.
Oh! I tend to use a cat litter tray for both methods. Naturally it is used only for my fabrics lol
Then again you can now buy treated fabrics specifically for printing on:
Made by BLUMENTHAL Craft www.blumenthallansing.com
and made in the U.S. they sell 100% Silk Habotai (6 sheets 81/2 inch by 11)
Cotton Twill " :
Artist Canvas same packaging,
So far I have only tried the Artist's canvas, and it was a disaster! It would not feed through my new Epson [printer.
As yet I haven't had time to try out the silk or the cotton twill
But pages of artist canvas, gesso treated go through no problem. Go figure!
Jacquard www.jacquardproducts.com
market ExtraOrganza a sheer Organza and I love to use it overlaid over other fabrics and colours to add another dimension.
I hope this has been of some use to you..........would love to see some photos of your project.
The postcards from the Round 10 swap on Postmark'dArt are still trickling into my letter box.
Each is so different in theme,technique and execution , as the brief was entitled "Anything goes"
Luckily the artists are always willing to share their thoughts and methods,so I not only receive a card but learn new methods along the way.
How good is that!
Not much happening here...the past week has been wet and wintery.
Today is clear,sunny and cool and so some photoes of patches in colour in my garden are for your enjoyment
Firstly, there is the first Iceland Poppy bursting its bud and giving a welcome glow of gold.
A few feet away from the poppies, is a tub of Salvia (I forget its botanical name,sorry) and some Impatiens.
A piece measuring twelve inches wide by 24 inches long,this is an abstract piece using several methods.
I chose Orange (a tone on tone print that I overlaid with a toning Crystal Organza)
Blue (royal blue with an overlay of Crystal Organza)
Brown/tan with a small black print
Sun,sea and sky, and land are represented by this choice of fabric.
These were cut and stitched before I began work on the hands---
Using prepped artist's canvas I washed the hands with Gold Lumiere paint.
Added dimension was achieved using a hot glue gun...these swirls were then embossed with a gold embossing paste rubbed in.
In the sun section: between the base fabric and the overlaid organza I positioned (apricot coloured) die-cut paper flowers for extra interest.
A few weeks back I mentioned that I needed to craft a 12.5 inch square representing
ELEMENTS: Fire.
My first attempt is still languishing.awaiting completion as a small quilt.
The second attempt,I once again based around a firestorm through paddocks----
This time,instead of working one one scene, I thought of the burning paddocks as separate entities.
Initially I started with a piece of homespun that I over-painted with orange,scarlet and vermilion to represent the fiery atmosphere.
Using Xpanda print and then later,black Neopaque paint , I built up some fence posts at the foreground of each "paddock"
Before painting the posts,I heat treated them to expand and add a dimension to the piece.
Some posts have glowing embers eating at them.
Using various shades and fabrics(which included,cottons,silks and organza) I added flame shapes,and then using some black cord, some stark skeletons of trees.
I hope the recipients of my cards enjoy.
Now,to complete that quilt!
Paper fabric? Fabric paper?
What's the difference?
Back in 2004 in an edition of Cloth Paper Scissors, I read an article by Breyl Taylor,referring to combining/fusing paper with fabric to make a "fabric",that although it looked
like paper,it could be used like fabric.
Not long after that,I purchased Beryl's book "Mixed Media Explorations" which talked of her method for"Fabric Paper"
Also in 2007, again in "CPS"kelli Perkins published an article on making mixed- media fabric paper......and I was "hooked'!
My first attempts at this process were entered in Virginia Spiegel's "Fibre Art for a Cause" in 2008.......I had just lost my husband to Prosate Cancer,so my theme was "The Melody Lingers on"
and the same motifs (lavender) plus sheet music and shells were combined to produce the pieces I submitted.
Today's "sample uses similar---the same lavendar motif from the original paper napkin,pink,blue and lavebnder tissue paper------and that is where I stopped this afternoon.
Maybe I will add further Lumiere (painted)high lights and other embellishments......who knows?
Come back for a visit......and see what happens!
One of Postmark'dArt group current challenge is to interpret the Element Fire as six postcards.
Being Summer in my country I chose to use "bushfires" to represent the element.
However as my idea took shape I could see that so much detail would be lost by cutting this 12.5 inch square into six (4by 6 inch) postcards.
Consequently this will eventually end up as a 12 inch square art quilt.
The background material was a grey patterned cotton fabric that I over washed with vermilion,orange and gold; both in opaque and transparent acrylic paints.
Using Xpandapaint,I then applied the tree skeleton and the fence posts.
I heat treated these and then painted over them with black to represent burnt surroundings.
The next phase,was to paint some Tyvek with Lumiere mettalic gold neopaque paints in my version of flame colours.
The Tyvek was then distressed with heat, and I set about the fiddly process of cuting flame shapes from the Tyvek as well as from some flame coloured silk to applique to represent the firestorm.
As I said.....this is a work in progress!
When your daughter phones you, and says "she needs a BIG favour"??
If you're a dummy like me,you say "OK baby" and then ask for the details...........
Today,Colleen was driving down a major roadway,when she saw "FOUND"
Being my darling girl,she couldn't leave "Found/Rescued" where he was at risk, could she.........
THEN when he was safely in her car.....practicality kicked in........she couldn't take him home,because Bella the German Shepherd would reduce him to mince-meat.
She didnt want to overburden the RSPCA,because they had just seized some 200 dogs & puppies from a puppy farm...... .Peninsula Animal Aid was closed...........
O GOOD ol'Mum is a soft touch...............nuff said!!
Maybe "overnight" might change my mind...if he whinges a lot.....
but he is one sweet baby (so far)
I have left details with the RSPCA as a "FOUND"
Tomorrow ,when the office opens,I'll contact Moreton Bay Council for details of his registration....and see if I can contact his humans.......
Colleen......I hate to admit it honey......but I hope I cant find his humans......
As I said...overnight behaviour might change my thinking...........
BUT
he is one sweet baby!
(Watch this space)
